Who is Dushan Hemantha? 5 interesting facts about Sri Lankan leg-spinner playing vs India in 2023 World Cup
Dushan Hemantha has replaced Dhananjaya de Silva in Sri Lanka's playing XI for their 2023 World Cup match against India today (November 2). Sri Lankan skipper Kusal Mendis won the toss at the Wankhede Stadium and decided to bowl first.
Speaking with Ravi Shastri at the toss, Kusal Mendis disclosed that he made one change to his playing XI after the defeat against Afghanistan in the last game. He left Dhananjaya de Silva out and picked Dushan Hemantha in his place.
Hemantha is an all-rounder, who bowls right-arm leg-spin. Before he impresses fans with his talent in the 2023 World Cup match against India, here are five things fans should know about him.
#1 Dushan Hemantha has played 4 ODI matches for Sri Lanka
Hemantha made his ODI debut for Sri Lanka against Afghanistan earlier this year in Hambantota. He has played four matches for the nation so far, scoring 39 runs and scalping two wickets.
Notably, Hemantha was a part of Sri Lanka's playing XI for their 2023 World Cup match against the Netherlands at the Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. He scored four runs and bowled a wicketless spell of 0/42 against the Dutch.
#2 Dushan Hemantha was the only unbeaten player for Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2023 final
Hemantha also represented Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final against India this September, where the island nation got all out for just 50 runs. Not many fans would remember that Hemantha was the second-highest run-scorer for Sri Lanka in that game.
In fact, he was the only Sri Lankan player to not lose his wicket. He came out to bat at number nine and scored 13 runs off 15 balls, hitting one four.
#3 Dushan Hemantha dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed in LPL 2023
Pakistan's Iftikhar Ahmed is one of the top big-hitters in the white-ball formats right now. Ahmed turned up for the Colombo Strikers in the Lanka Premier League earlier this year, where he lost his stumps to Dambulla Aura's Dushan Hemantha after scoring 18 runs off 26 balls.
Hemantha picked up three more wickets in LPL 2023. The three batters to lose their wickets to him were Ashan Priyanjan, Chad Bowes and Nuwanindu Fernando.
#4 Hemantha made his List-A debut in 2014
While Hemantha has played only four ODI matches for Sri Lanka so far, he has a lot of List-A cricket experience under his belt. The all-rounder made his List-A debut for Saracens Sports Club against Colombo Cricket Club back on December 13, 2014.
Hemantha had a forgettable debut, where he got out for a duck and did not bowl. Former Sri Lankan batter Chamara Silva was a part of the Colombo team in that game.
#5 Connection with England
Dushan Hemantha's Instagram bio has two emojis. One is the Sri Lankan flag, and the other is England's flag. His wife Rashi Hirunika's Instagram bio features the two flags along with the Japanese flag in her bio.
The all-rounder has shared many pictures of himself in the UK on his official Instagram profile as well. It looks like he has spent a lot of time in England.